Pride by Ibi Zoboi

Pride

by Ibi Zoboi

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and PrejudiceNational Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic. A smart, funny, gorgeous retelling starring all characters of color. 

Zuri Benitez has pride. Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.

When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and arrogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.

But with four wild sisters pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon, Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape, or lose it all.

"Zoboi skillfully depicts the vicissitudes of teenage relationships, and Zuri’s outsize pride and poetic sensibility make her a sympathetic teenager in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

Reviewed by leahrosereads on

4 of 5 stars

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This would have been a 5 star had it not been a retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It was a wonderfully fresh take on the story. The cultures depicted were beautiful to read about and the tight knit community was honestly how I wish all communities would be like. However, following this family of 7 actually meant following 1 with a couple more being fleshed out but then others bringing nothing to the story but a name.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 23 February, 2019: Finished reading
  • 23 February, 2019: Reviewed